Thailand Semester Teaching Assistant Program
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Thailand Teaching Assistant Program 2010
Announcing the 2010 Thailand Teacher Assistant Scholarship Winners
Please visit the afsusa.org website for full program description.
Staff may apply for this position following the Leave of Absence policy. If a recruiter wishes to apply, they would be released from their contract and could re-contract upon their return if spots were open.
Thailand Teaching Assistant interview questions
Note: applicants for this 18+ program do not need to be interviewed with their parents, however, including parents, especially with younger applicants can be advantageous.
Describe a time when you were in a new environment and experienced yourself as lonely. How did you cope? (How would you deal with feelings of loneliness?)
Describe a situation when you were stressed. How did you alleviate the stress and manage your situation? (What do you do to relieve stress?)
How would you try to participate in the local culture?
Describe a situation when you were asked to do something that made you uncomfortable or that went against a personal belief, but was nonetheless something that needed to be done for the sake of the group. How did you feel? How did you reconcile your feelings and the feelings of others? (How would you respond when the head of the English Dept. asks you to spend your Saturday training local Thai teachers? or How would you feel about having to wear a lot of makeup and traditional Thai dress and march in a school parade?)
Give me three adjectives that your friends would use to describe you. Can you tell me about an occasion when one or more of these characteristics helped you engage in a positive way with some new people? (I would encourage the program to select candidates who are more laid back, flexible and easy going. The foreign teacher should have a pleasant personality that people can easily approach. And it's very important that they know how to laugh and joke and have a good time with the other teachers/students.)
Can you share a story from your experience when you traveled somewhere new by yourself, Did your experience involve eating out or walking alone – how did you feel about your experience? (Are you unafraid to do things by yourself, such as travel, eat out, walk at night? Teachers will most likely be spread out around the country and need to travel on public transportation to a central point for meetings.)
Have you been exposed to any other religions and if so how? What is your feeling towards Buddhism? (Buddhism is a big big thing in Thailand. Are you open to and tolerant of a completely new religion?)
What are some of your expectations around the school environment and what you’ll need to do? (Are you flexible with your expectations in the school setting? Things are NOT like they are in American schools, and the Thai schools and Thai students will not be changing to meet your expectations and comfort level. You'll have to adjust to them.)
Tell me about how you stay physically fit. How much walking are you doing today and what preparations are you making for walking around instead of driving? (They need to be in somewhat good shape because living arrangements are not the same as the USA. The beds are very hard too. Lots of walking to get around which requires physically fit too. If they have dietary issues, then they really don’t want to apply.)
Are you willing to stay with a host family and follow their rules?
Do you have any other form of income to help you support yourself while in Thailand to supplement the stipend?
Why do you want to apply for this program?
Application Schedule
January 8: Pre Applications due
Up thru mid January: Recruit Judges
February 1: Public Application Deadline, complete app due including interviews
Feb. 1-5: Advisors/volunteers wrap up pieces needed for judging
Feb. 7: Email packets to judges (applications, instructions, scoresheet)
Feb. 16: Scores due back
Feb. 18 & 19: Identify winners, runners-up, and send applications to Thailand for final approval
Feb. 26: Thailand approves winners
March 1: Announce Winners
Scholarship Judging
Evaluation Guidelines for TA Candidates
Sample Email to Scholarship Winners
Action Items for volunteers
1. Identify volunteer to do the interview and log the name (in Global Link or with Kirsten Merrell at <kmerrell@afs.org>)
2. Be aware that the application does not completely fit the program and that we do not have the resources to re-do the application at this time. Applicants may see wording that seems strange to an adult (such as a request for a parent signature) and volunteers need to reassure applicants as appropriate.
3. Confirm that applicant is a US Citizen. This US Embassy scholarship is only available to citizens.
4. Emphasize that applicants need to commit to the full length of the program. The school semester in Thailand ends by October 1st. Personal early returns will cost the applicants a substantial sum.
5. Conduct the interview using suggested questions from interview section above, and/or NSLI-Y type questions. The interview will be a significant part of the evaluation of the applicant.
6. Non-winners may choose to apply for Global Leaders (partial) Scholarships and go on the program as a paying participant. Please let applicants know that this is a possibility for them to consider.
List of Pre Apps as of Dec. 31, 2009
Thailand Teaching Assistant Applicants]
photo montage of 2010 winners
Additional Resources
Teaching Assistant flyer courtesy of AFS THA
Teaching Assistant Flyer for 2010
PDO conference call power point presentations - See orientations
Link to Facebook Group
